The AAS Committee on the Status of Women in Astronomy maintains this blog to disseminate information relevant to astronomers who identify as women. If you have an idea for a blog post or topic, please submit to wia-blog at lists.aas.org.
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Friday, June 28, 2019

AASWomen Newsletter for June 28, 2019

[AAS has migrated their email system to Microsoft Exchange, so please check your spam folder if you did not receive the newsletter this week. It is no longer possible to subscribe or unsubscribe to the AASWomen newsletter by means of Google Groups. We have updated our subscribe and unsubscribe instructions below. Please follow us on social media for updates and thank you for bearing with us as we work out all the kinks.Twitter @AAS_Women Facebook https://bit.ly/2PkU9of

“June 2019 is a special year for the LGBTQ+ community. The Stonewall riots started the fight for gay rights in the United States. It can be seen as a collective “coming out” of people fighting to be recognized as they are. It was violent, and not a “fun event” as our Pride Parade is nowadays. However, the riots had a strong impact on society. One year later, Gay Pride marches started all over the nation, and each year gay rights has moved more and more towards equality. Every June, we should pay respect to and celebrate with pride these strong men and women who fought for our rights and who were the start of a fast-moving revolution.”

"Peggy Whitson’s career as an astronaut has been trailblazing: With a total of 665 days in space, Whitson not only currently holds the space endurance record in the U.S., she is eighth on that list overall. She was the first woman astronaut to hold NASA’s chief astronaut position, has completed a total of 10 spacewalks over the course of her career, and commanded the International Space Station twice."

[This article will also be part of our Apollo anniversary blog post. Stay tuned! -- eds.]

Back to top.6. It could take 118 years for female computer scientists to match publishing rates of male colleaguesFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Jeffrey Brainard

"It could be well into the 21st century before female computer scientists annually publish as many research articles as their male counterparts, an analysis published today concludes. If current trends in publishing continue, women in biomedical research are likely to reach parity sooner, possibly by 2050."

Back to top.7. People trust scientists, says landmark survey, but there are troubling trendsFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Farah Qaiser

"In nearly every region, when comparing across similar years of education, men were significantly more likely (49%) to say they knew some or a lot about science compared to women (38%). This gender gap was the greatest in Northern Europe (75% versus 58%), but was negligible with a difference of only 3-4% in three regions: the Middle East, South America and Southeast Asia.

WGM suggests that this gender gap may be due to social norms or a difference in levels of confidence between men and women. While the answer is unclear, one thing is certain: this gender gap affects who participates – and benefits – from science."

"Clad in a white lab coat, safety goggles and protective gloves, she mixed chemicals into beakers and yielded an explosion of blue and orange foam-like substances.... Her experiment won the preliminary talent award and a $1,000 scholarship."

"AWIS today announces the launch of the ADVANCE Resource and Coordination (ARC) Network Community which connects scholars and practitioners committed to equity in STEM. In support of this initiative, Elsevier's leading reference manager and academic social network, Mendeley, will host a dedicated ARC Network group. In addition, SSRN, Elsevier's leading early stage research and preprint server, will host a dedicated STEM First Look series to support the initiative."

Back to top.11. What to Do When You’re the Only Woman in the RoomFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Dolly Chugh

"In my first job out of college, at an investment bank, I spent a year as the only woman — and only person of color — on a seven-person team.

Being the only one had some benefits (I guess): I was usually noticed and remembered. I suspect that my ability to keep up — and even surpass the performance of my male peers — was at times unexpected, and thus viewed positively by some in the firm.

But it also meant there were few role models for me. It was harder for me to visualize being there long-term. I felt like an outlier."

Back to top.12. STEM Gap: No State Has More Women Than Men w/ Tech DegreesFrom: JoEllen McBride [joellen.mcbride_at_gmail.com]

By Eric Griffith

"If it's not common knowledge that women in the US earn cents for every dollar a man makes (89 cents, according to Pew Research), it should be. That's not the only place where the gaps between the genders remain. For the STEM gap, new research shows the state-by-state differences."

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